Buckle



Pate'nted Ian. 3 I899.

' J. POLKA.

B U C K L E (Application filed Dec. 7, 1897.)

(No Model.)

INVENTOI? WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

prion...

ATET

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 617,183, dated January 3, 1899.

Application filed December '7, 1897. Serial ITO- 661,086. (No model.)

To ctZl whom it may concern.-

. Be it known that I, JACOB POLKA, of Smith Centre, in the county of Smith and State of Kansas, have invented a new and Improved Buckle, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention is a buckle capable of being used for all purposes for which buckles are usually designed, but designed especially for use as a trace-buckle, the construction being such as to permit the trace to be held firmly and securely without injury to the trace.

This specification is the disclosure of one form of the invention, while the claims define the actual scope of the invention.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the tongue-frame.

The buckle is constructed in two parts-a main frame and a tongue-frame. The main frame has two side bars 4, at the front ends of which are downwardly and forwardly extending projections 5, carrying at their outer ends a round cross-bar 6. An arched cross bar 7 runs between the side bars 4 at the inner ends of the projections 5. The rear ends of the side bars 4are provided with two crossbars 8 and 9. The cross-bar 8 runs directly between the side bars, and the cross-bar 9 is arched up similarly to the cross-bar 7. A semicircular frame 10 is rigidly secured to or formed integral with the arched cross-bar 9 and carries a fiat spring 11, which extends horizontally forward of the cross-bar 9 and through a recess therein. The free end of the spring 11 has a downwardly-extending portion forming a hook 12.

The hook 12 of the spring 11 is adapted to engage with the tongue-pin 13 of the tongueframe. The tongue-frame consists in two side bars 14, joined at their front ends by a crossbar 15, the ends of which are extended to form trunnions 16, adapted to rest on the inner ends of the projections 5, directly adjacent to the front ends of the cross-bars 7 of the main frame. Extending between the rear portions of the side bars 14 is a cross-bar 17, from which the pin 13 upwardly projects. The rear extremities of the side bars 14 are slightly beveled at each side, so that they may be con veniently placed on the upper face of the crossbar 8 when the tongue-frame is slid horizontally and rearward to be placed in po-' sition. The tongue-frame rests with the rear extremities of the bars 14 on the cross-bar 8 and with the tongue-pin 13 directly beneath the spring 11, such spring being arranged so that the pin or tongue 13 on engaging with the hook 12 will raise the spring and then permit the spring to move inward again, so as to cover the pin or tongue 13. When the pin or tongue 13 is to be disengaged from the strap, the spring 11 is raised and the tongue-frame drawn forward. As the bars 14 disengage the bar 8 the tongue is permitted to swing down ward or inward on the trunnions 16. To permit the tongue-frame to be inserted beneath the cross-bars 7 and 9, the bar 7 is provided with a recess 18 in its under face, which receives the upper end of the tongue 13 and permits the tongue to slide horizontally beneath the bar 7.

When the invention is used in the connection for which it is principally intendedwhich is to say, as atrace-buckle-the tonguestrap from the hames is connected with the cross-bar 6. The strap forming the trace proper may now be passed between the crossbars 8 and 9 and also between the cross-bars 15 and 7. To permit this,the tongue-frame must be drawn forward and the cross-bar 17 dropped between the cross -bars 14. The tongue 13 may now be passed through the appropriate opening in the trace, and then the tongue-frame should be moved rearward to engage the bars 14 with the bar 8, whereupon the spring 11 will bear down on the tongue 13 and hold the trace. The free end of the trace is held beneath the cross-bar 7. The trace is readily disengaged from the buckle by drawprojection, a cross-bar run between the outer ends of said projections, a semicircular frame secured to one of the rear cross-bars of the side bars of the main frame, a spring secured to said frame and projected forwardly, and a tongue-frame having two side bars joined by two cross-bars, one of the cross-bars having trunnions resting on the aforesaid projections and the other cross-bar having a tongue-pin extending upwardly and normally engaging with side bars connected by cross-bars, each side bar having a projection, a cross-bar run between said projections, a tongue-frame slidable between the cross-bars and side bars of the main frame and having trunnions rocking on the projections, a tongue-pin carried by the tongue-frame, and a spring attached to the main frame and coacting with the tongue-pin to hold the tongue-frame in operative position.

4. The combination in a buckle, of a main frame, a tongue-frame mounted removably on the main frame, a tongue carried by the tongue-frame and coacting therewith, and a spring attached to the main frame and engaging the outer end of the tongue to removably hold the same.

JACOB POLKA. \Vitnesses:

F. B. HOUGH, D. J. DRUMMOND. 

